Class of 2010

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Ana Abril Arias

Autonomous University of Baja California, TijuanaUniversity of California, San Diego Family Medicine Residency Training Program

Abril was born in Tijuana, Baja California, México but grew up in Southern California. She received her medical school degree in 2004 from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. After graduating medical school, she worked as an employee health physician providing health care services to over 500 employees and their families.

Dr. Arias successfully completed all three-program modules—Basic Sciences, Clinical Sciences and the Clinical Observership. During this time period, she has provided "how to study" seminars to peers and recently added her lecture to the UCLA IMG e-learning library. Having a passion for teaching, one of her long-term goals is to become a faculty member in a family medicine training program in California. Dr. Arias will be joining former program graduate Miguel Casillas, MD (2009) at the University of California San Diego Family Medicine Residency Program in June 2010.

Victor Castilla

Greater National University of San MarcosPomona Valley Hospital Medical Center Family Medicine Residency Training Program

Victor was born in Chincha, a small rural town on the coast of Peru. Although the education opportunities in rural Peru are most limited, he excelled as a student and won a scholarship to attend the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, a 400 year old university, in Lima and graduated in 2004. After graduation, he worked in the small town of La-Brea Negritos where he focused his practice on the chronic illness care.

Dr. Castilla successfully completed the UCLA IMG Program in 2008. He returned to UCLA in 2009 where he has been working with the program and peers to help others work towards U.S. medical licensure and understand how to utilize technology to keep current with the practice of medicine. Moreover, he has created a sound library to help UCLA medical students learn medical Spanish that will be used for the first time in 2010 and has developed teaching materials for our web site to help IMGs worldwide to prepare for the US board exams. Dr. Castilla will be joining the Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center Family Medicine Residency Program, a UCLA affiliated program in Pomona, CA in June 2010.

Johana Flores

National Autonomous University of Honduras USC/California Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program

A native of Tegucigalpa Honduras, Johana graduated from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras in 2007. After graduating medical school, she continued working in the rural town of Juticalpa City where she learned the importance of treating patients with respect and compassion.

Dr. Flores was selected as a UCLA IMG Program scholar in 2009. After completing the program, she continued working with the program to assist peers in preparing for USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills examination and assist with orienting new scholars. In addition, she has been a member of the UCLA Family Health Center's Patient Centered Health Home team implementing methods to improve continuity of care. In June 2010, she will begin her three-year Family Medicine training at California Medical Center/USC Family Medicine Residency Program that serves the central city in Los Angeles, CA. She will join former graduates Alejandra Rodriguez, MD (2008) and Maria Cristina Acosta, MD (2009).

Ricardo Manuel

Benemerita Autonomous University of PueblaUCLA Family Medicine Residency Program

Ricardo was born and raised in Cuba. He attended the Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de la Habana for five years. In 2000, with the permission of the Cuban government, he immigrated to Mexico where he resumed his medical education at the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla graduating in 2004.

Prior to joining the UCLA IMG Clinical Observership In 2009, he held several health care delivery leadership positions including the Director of the Placement Center in San Francisco and manager of the Occupations Medicine Department in Kentfield, CA. Dr. Manuel will be joining UCLA IMG Program graduates Francisco Campapadal, MD (2007), Blanca Campos, MD (2008) and Selene Lozano, MD (2009) at the UCLA Family Medicine Residency Program in June 2010.

Rafael Nuñez Gutierrez

University of San Martin de Porres USC/California Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program

Rafael was born in Peru and graduated from the University of San Martín de Porres Faculty of Medicine in 2005 and moved to the U.S. in 2006.

Before being selected to the UCLA IMG Clinical Observerhip in 2009, Dr. Nuñez had participated in various venues that allowed him to learn about the U.S. health care system. These include volunteering with a family physician, serving as a volunteer research assistant at UCLA and later serving as a research coordinator for a diabetes clinical trial. Currently, he is studying for the USMLE Step 3 examination. In June 2010, he will be joining former program graduates Alejandra Rodriguez, MD (2008) and Maria Cristina Acosta, MD (2009) at the California Medical Center/USC Family Medicine Residency Program that serves the central city in Los Angeles, CA.

Melissa Rosa Puig

University of Carabobo Riverside County Regional Medical Center Family Medicine Residency

Melissa was born in Peru and educated in Venezuela. After graduating from the Universidad de Carabobo in 2001 she worked as a physician in a rural town in Venezuela and then went on to complete a three-year emergency medicine training program in Venezuela. Prior to beginning the UCLA IMG program in 2009, Melissa was invited to participate in a research project with the study successfully published in The Breast Journal, February 2009. As a result of her research participation, she was selected by the American Cancer Society (ACS) to provide Spanish-language seminars to ACS volunteers. Dr. Puig will be joining UCLA IMG Program graduates Isabel Gonzalez, MD (2008), Wendy Rosensweig, MD (2009) and Marcela Espinosa De Los Montero, MD (2009) at the Riverside County Regional Medical Center's Family Medicine Residency Program, a UCLA affiliated program, in June 2010.

Alma Reyes Estrada

Autonomous University of Baja California, Mexicali USC/California Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program

Alma was born in El Centro, CA on the Mexican boarder, grew up in Mexicali and in 2007, she graduated from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California - Mexicali campus.

Dr. Reyes successfully completed all three-program modules—Basic Sciences, Clinical Sciences and the Clinical Observership. During this time, she has served her peers in helping them prepare for the USMLE Step 2 CS examination. Moreover, her skills as an EKG technician and her passion for teaching others, led to the development of an on-line training session for basic EKG interpretation. In June 2010, Dr. Reyes will be joining UCLA IMG Program graduates Alejandra Rodriguez, MD (2008) and Maria Cristina Acosta, MD (2008) at the California Medical Center/USC Family Medicine Residency Program that serves the central city in Los Angeles, CA.

Ana was born and raised in a small rural community in the Mexicali valley about two hours south of the Mexican border. Despite many obstacles, she graduated from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. After completing medical school, she moved to California.

Dr. Solis had a dream to become a US Naval officer and begin working as a nursing attendant on a surgical ward in the Navy Hospital in San Diego while simultaneously studying for her medical licensure. She was admitted to the UCLA IMG Program with advanced standing and graduated in 2009. Given the challenges of being an international medical graduate and pursuing a U.S. Naval career, she applied to Family Medicine residency training programs in both the civilian and military match. Dr. Solis' dream to become a naval officer has been realized. She will be joining the Naval Hospital Camp Pendelton Family Practice Residency Training Program in June 2010. The Navy is very pleased to match Dr Silos, as their need for Spanish-speaking physicians even in the US Armed Forces, continues to grow.

Xiomara Lizzette Vlahos

University of El Salvador USC/California Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program

Xiomara was born and raised in San Miguel, El Salvador and graduated from the Universidad de El Salvador in June 2000. After graduation, she worked as a general practitioner in her hometown at the San Juan de Dios Hospital. After moving to the U.S. in 2001, she enrolled in English language studies at East Los Angeles Community College and completed the USMLE examinations. In addition, she worked as a research assistant at the Keck School of Medicine/USC Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Dr. Vlahos graduated from the UCLA IMG Program in 2009 and during this time also served as an associate instructor for the Medical Spanish Selective Course at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. In June 2010, Dr. Vlahos will be joining UCLA IMG Program graduates Alejandra Rodriguez, MD (2008) and Maria Cristina Acosta, MD (2008) at the California Medical Center/USC Family Medicine Residency Program that serves the central city in Los Angeles, CA.

Luciana graduated from the Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1998 and successfully competed for a general surgery residency position at the Bernardino Rivadavia Hospital, a public hospital that serves a low-income population.

Dr. Yacomotti was selected as a UCLA IMG Scholar in 2006 and successfully completed the program in 2008. With a desire to spend time additional time cultivated her knowledge of the U.S. health care system, she continued her work at UCLA. During the past 18-months, she has completed a case report on Cervical osteomyelitis in an intravenous drug user, served as the lead course instructor for the Medical Spanish Selective Course at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and enhanced the 2008 course materials and provided seminars in teaching peers how to locate and extract information for clinical medical research. Moreover, she has been a member of the UCLA Family Health Center's Patient Centered Health Home team developing methods to collect, aggregate and analyze data as the first phase of a larger project aimed at decreasing inappropriate emergency room and hospital admissions for uninsured and publicly insured patients with case management for selected medical conditions. Dr. Yacomotti will be joining the Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center Family Medicine Residency Program, a UCLA affiliated program in Pomona, CA in June 2010.

Carlos Yoo

Korea University College of Medicine UCSF-Fresno Family Medicine Residency Program

Carlos was born and raised in Argentina and attended Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. After graduation in 2008 he moved to the United States to pursue U.S. medical licensure.

Dr. Yoo was selected as a UCLA IMG program scholar with advanced standing in 2009. Over the past year he volunteered in free clinics, including the Korean Resource Center-Community Medicine Clinic, a teaching clinic for UCLA medical students, where is trilingual (English, Spanish and Korean) and tricultural skills have proven invaluable. Further, he has served as an associate instructor for the Medical Spanish Selective Course at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and is preparing for the USMLE Step 3 examination. In June 2010, he will begin his internship at the University of San Francisco-Fresno, Family Medicine Residency Program where he will joining former program graduates Nidia Payan, MD (2009), Cira Welvaert, MD (2009) and Mileidys Gomez-Gonzalez, MD (2009) and providing services in the underserved rural communities in of California.